Amid the surge of anti-Islam sentiments in Europe, PEGIDA spokesman Udo Ulfkotte told RT that the movement does not promote xenophobia, but rather tries to prevent Christian culture from mixing with Islamic traditions in a multicultural cocktail.

“We want to keep our culture, to keep our traditions, to keep
our Christian values,” Udo Ulfkotte told RT, adding that the
issue has nothing to do with disrespect for Islam but rather the
fear that Sharia tradition might take roots in the Western world.

“We respect Islam here,” he said, but added that it was
unacceptable when a German court begins citing the Koran in its rulings. “We say
this has nothing to do with our culture, with our traditions,
with our judicial system. We are all equal and we don’t want to
have special rights for Muslims here in this country.”

The growing protest
movement on the streets of Germany is a big headache for German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is trying to appease potential
voters and balance her statement on multiculturalism with the
general public sentiment, Ulfkotte says.

Merkel is “under heavy pressure” as the complex protest
which has “nothing to do with left-wing or right-wing”
keeps growing, he said. “There are many reasons for that...It
is not only Islamization of Europe; we are pressed for war
against Russia and Ukraine. There are many things coming together
where the people are fed up and upset.”

Ulfkotte does not believe that PEGIDA is spreading hate or
intolerance with its rhetoric. However, he stated that the way
Islam is taught, in German Muslim schools in particular, cannot
be called a religion of peace.

“We don't want to spread hate. What we want to tell the
people out there is please accept this and open your eyes,
[Islam] is not a peaceful religion,” Ulfkotte said, drawing
on the examples of endless wars in the Muslim world and the
Shia-Sunni conflicts. “So many Muslims killing each other,
you don’t need PEGIDA to say there are Islamaphobic people out
there.”

Germany is split on the issues of immigration and Islamization,
with 29 percent of people saying that anti-Islamic marches were
justified given the influence that Islam has on life in Germany.
Thirteen percent were ready to personally join such a march,
according to a recent poll by Forsa.

PEGIDA's spokesman, however, said that most anti-PEGIDA and
so-called "pro-tolerance" demonstrators are actually being paid
or recruited through charities and organizations funded by the
government.

“They have received emails that they should go to
demonstrations, and they have a feeling that if they don't go to
these anti-PEGIDA demonstrations they won’t get any more
taxpayers' money,” Ulfkotte said. “So it is not the free
will of the people going there.”

The growing anti-Islamization movement issue, which Ulfkotte
emphasized should not be confused with xenophobia, is not
isolated to Germany.

“We are not different from other European countries. Look to
the Netherlands, where you have one-third of the population
thinking that way. Look to France, look to Hungary, look to
Sweden,” Ulfkotte said. “Especially it has nothing to do
with xenophobia. You are welcome, all people who want to
integrate here, who want peacefully to live together with us, we
don’t have any problems with them.”